Johnson breaks his restrictor-plate hex

After a four-year working hiatus to blog form, it’s good to be back in the print edition again with Through the Gear Box. After what we witnessed at Sunday’s Daytona 500, there’s plenty to talk about to start our ninth season.

It all begins with Jimmie Johnson’s winning effort.

Johnson held off teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. to grab his second Daytona 500, and in the final analysis, it was an attention-getting performance in a lot of ways.

Aside from the debut of the new Gen6 car — which looks great and races well — Johnson became the 10th multiple winner of the Great American Race, seven years after his first. Adding to the surprise was how Johnson has struggled at a restrictor-plate track like Daytona.

Since that 2006 triumph, Johnson’s best finish in NASCAR’s season opener was 27th, done twice (2008, 2011). Add in the July race, and things barely improve with one top-5 (2nd in 2009) and one top-10 (10th in 2007).

Thanks to a caution that came with eight laps to go, Johnson got the big break he needed and the Lowe’s Chevrolet SS — that racy new car — made the advantage stick with the high line working all day long for the 200-lap race.

When Johnson last won the 500, he ended up winning the first of his five straight Sprint Cup championships. After two years of falling short, Sunday’s effort could be a bad sign for the rest of the Sprint Cup field.

Then again, it’s way too early.

If you thought we were going to let Danica Patrick’s effort slip by our radar, nice try. Following her pole-winning effort, I got caught up in the drama over the closing laps as Patrick kept the GoDaddy.com Chevrolet so very close to a win that would have set the racing world on fire.

Even though she faded late and finished eighth, Patrick made history in more ways than one. Her finish was the highest by a woman in the Daytona 500, beating Janet Guthrie’s 11th-place run in 1980.

And there’s more: Patrick led five laps, the first woman to do that in the 500, and she’s the 13th driver to lead laps at Daytona and the Indianapolis 500. Patrick joins the likes of A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Stewart — a pretty elite group.

In direct contrast, Patrick’s Stewart-Haas Racing boss had a rotten day at the 500, finishing 41st after getting caught up in a seven-car wreck at lap 34.

Yes, it was a classic case of girl power, and Patrick’s performance is cementing her status as a racer, not a “female racer.” She may not have won Sunday, but she’s truly legitimate now.

Mad props to the broadcast as it was presented on Fox. There were frequent wide shots that gave great perspective on the racing going on, and using side-by-side formatting to present commercials was ideal throughout. The screen that showed the race was a bit smaller than I would have liked, but it worked.

To say the last-lap accident at Saturday’s Nationwide race at Daytona was horrific is more than a slight understatement. Racers know the risks they take when they strap into their cars every week, but the fans should be wondering how safe they truly are after 33 were injured from debris that flew in the stands.

A tire, with wheel hub attached, went in at least a dozen rows, and the engine from Kyle Larson’s car was barely held by the 22-foot catch fence.

Stewart ended up winning the Nationwide race, but it was a subdued celebration with the injured fans on everyone’s mind. Video of the moment popped up everywhere, and it was an amazing effort by track workers to get the affected stretch of fence repaired in time for Sunday’s race.

We can’t tell what’s going to happen in the future, but what happened at Daytona on Saturday should serve as a reminder. Enjoy the race, but remember the risks.

And for more on racing that we can’t fit in the paper, come here to this blog for more knowledge.